Mute
by Happiness's Deceit
Summary: Itachi attacks a member of his team. Kakashi wants to know why, and as a result understands the brothers more than they know themselves. Premassacre.


_Naruto belongs to its respective creator and/or publisher(s). I have no claim on it._

**Summary**: Itachi attacks a member of his team. Kakashi wants to know why, and as a result understands the brothers more than they know themselves. Pre-massacre.

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* * *

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"_Did you hear?"_

"_About that Uchiha kid? Yeah."_

"_Sick, isn't it?"_

"_I heard he just went crazy on the other guy."_

"_We shouldn't trust him."_

"_Not if he's going to _attack_ us. The Hokage could _beg _me and I won't be on the same team as that brat."_

"_I know…"_

* * *

**Mute**

**

* * *

**

Kakashi Hatake had heard some crazy things over the past week. All of them involved the Uchiha phenom; most of them were nasty. It wasn't surprising, he supposed. Itachi Uchiha had been a hot topic ever since he passed the graduation exam at such a young age. But for it to have manifested at this level was something very surprising indeed. He didn't know where it had started, but he was going to find out—all of the teams were buzzing about it; nothing was getting done.

The Hokage was being surprisingly lenient towards this behavior, and Kakashi wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. To expose the teen to this much criticism at his current age (not to mention his _mentality_) wasn't a good thing, was it? Just because the younger male was practically born to be a _shinobi_ did not mean that he was inhuman. It seemed very odd to the _ANBU_, and even if he didn't know the genius personally, it was an off feeling. Kakashi was younger than his teammates, and had been raised into a similar situation. Perhaps that was what was making him act the way he did. It wasn't fair, he knew, that there was so much discrimination among comrades; but it was a thing that came naturally no matter where you were. He himself had gone through so much, but others _had_ broken through to him. He was determined to do the same to Itachi.

That was the main reason he approached the Uchiha estate at ten o'clock on a Sunday morning. He had it on good faith that Itachi didn't have any missions today, and that he wasn't planning on spending the time with his friends (because, really, no one had ever seen him with friends).

So he bowed politely to the man at the front gate and spoke in calm tones, "I'm here to see Itachi." He silently prayed that the man would let him through without any problems, but Itachi must not have had many visitors; the sentry tensed at the utterance of the teen's name.

The Uchiha male looked at him suspiciously, before barking in good humor, "Ah! So the lone _nin_ has finally got some friends, huh? Come back again!" He waved him through with a friendly smack on the back.

Kakashi frowned. How was he to find the male in an estate this large? Admittedly, he had heard rumors of the prosperous clan, but it still surprised him that the clan had such a large property—almost like a small town within their very division. Still he knew enough of the phenom to be able to actively search for him. He closed his eyes solemnly, searching for the younger male. Upon reviewing the clan's interior, he determined that Itachi was not inside, but outside, with a decidedly smaller chakra. Probably a child, but that didn't match up with the reports that Kakashi had heard of the infamous Uchiha. He smirked at the tension of several other members of the clan; his presence in the estate had not gone unnoticed, but he had not been confronted as of yet.

Kakashi leaped onto the roof, stepping carefully on the worn tiles, and moved his way to the small garden on the other side of the estate. As he crept along the roof, he heard a boyish laughter and an accompanying yet quiet chuckle. The sound did not seem odd to him until he reached the edge, and as he peered down, he was met by a very odd sight.

The lone, introverted, and mysterious Itachi Uchiha was cradling a small child on his lap, one hand covering the boy's own as they carefully threaded a needle, and the other gently supporting him. It was an unusual sight for the _ANBU_, to say in the least—he had often been warned by the other _nin _that Itachi did not like to be touched, no matter what the reason for doing so.

Yet he cradled this child with such gentleness and love.

Kakashi watched them for a moment, the two Uchiha, as they finished threading the needle and picked up a torn but loved rabbit. One ear, nearly torn off, was in need of obvious mending, and the child slipped off of Itachi's lap onto the wood beside him and watched curiously as the older male deftly sewed the rabbit's ear back on. When he finished, the child let out a playful squeal and was quick in reclaiming the stuffed toy. Itachi watched for a moment before ruffling the younger male's hair, and then chuckled very quietly at the sight he made.

Kakashi froze at the sound of the chuckle. It was a sound he had heard when he had first come upon the brothers, but it was not something he would have believed the loner of an Uchiha to de in any situation. He watched as the younger Uchiha hugged the toy, and began to run down the hall, before darting back and giving Itachi a hug before running down the hall once again. He made a quick '_taptap_' sound as he galloped through the halls, and Kakashi had no doubt that the younger one would soon be a fine _nin _as well.

"Kakashi Hatake."

The acknowledgement came as a surprise, because Kakashi had been sure that he had hidden his presence better than that, but he nonetheless, jumped from his position on the roof to the garden below. He landed steadily on his feet before meeting Itachi's eyes.

"Who was the child?"

In this, Itachi seemed a bit bothered, but it was not in his face—a slight slip of the male's chakra was instead the indicator. "No one of concern." He spoke confidently, as if daring Kakashi to call him on his lie.

"Does he keep you stable?" Kakashi questioned, refusing to be thrown off.

"No."

"You're lying."

"Yes." It was a statement, a single word, but it showed that the boy was of great importance to the younger male. "Do not touch him."

Kakashi was surprised by the added sentence; it in itself showed that Itachi was weak when it came to this boy—something that would be taken advantage of in the future if he wasn't careful. The Uchiha was weak for that young boy—but why? "Is he your lover?" The thought could have made him sick—the one he spoke of was younger than ten, and the one he was speaking to was just above that age.

"No."

"Then what?"

"My blood." The sentence was spoken without contempt, which alerted Kakashi to a new fact.

"You hate your clan."

"Only its weakness."

"And not the boy's?"

"He is not weak."

_What strength are you referring to? _Kakashi wanted to ask. _What strength could a child possibly have that such a powerful clan does not?_

As if answering his thoughts, Itachi spoke. "He has the strength to resist the beliefs of others. The strength to become unlike me." The last statement was bitter, an angry addition that belied the true aggravation that the teen held.

"You love him."

"Yes."

"Who is he?" This time the question was asked not to get deeper into Itachi's mind, but out of curiosity. Who was the child who could create a gentle _nin_?

"My younger brother."

Their conversation ended.

* * *

Kakashi has avoided the Uchiha family since Obito died, but he finds himself truly interested in the boy that saves Itachi's soul. He doesn't realize that Itachi may hurt him for doing this until it is too late, but the curiosity gnaws at him until he outright visits the school he spent so little time in. The woman at the desk in elderly, obviously past her time but once a good _nin_. She meets his eyes before nodding and allowing him into the principal's office. There, she leaves him with another nod, and returns to her post.

The man is writing a message, and looks up when the door closes. He stands to greet Kakashi, and the _ANBU_ cannot help but wish he had worn something other than his current attire. In a mission, it would be acceptable—a slick, black, sleeveless turtleneck, tight black pants, and a silver vest that denotes him as a member of the _ANBU_. Still, it got him where he needed to be. He nods at the man, who sits down again, and in a calm voice, Kakashi speaks.

"I need to see one of your students."

At this, the man seems flustered, as if he had not been expecting such a request. "Ah, well, you see…privacy…"

"I need to see one of your students." He repeats. Kakashi does not like to repeat himself, and he hopes that the man will not make him do so again.

The man sighs. Then he quietly pulls out a large, dark green scroll and asks. "Who is it?"

Kakashi smiles beneath his mask. "The younger brother of Itachi Uchiha."

The principal dutifully unravels the scroll, talking to Kakashi as he does so. "The younger brother, hm? Well, Sasuke isn't quite the genius Itachi is, but he's at the top of his class and is a _very_ good student. Is there a familial problem going on? …Oh, of course there wouldn't be. Silly me for asking. Let's see…Uchiha, Uchiha…Ah! Here we are." He opens the scroll a bit wider. "He has a lunch break in ten minutes…?"

"Hatake. Kakashi Hatake."

"Hatake. He has a lunch break in ten minutes, so I'll have Mina leave a message with his teacher and he'll meet you in the classroom then."

Kakashi bows to the man and makes his leave of the office. The school's interior has not changed since the time when he studied here, and is still as awkwardly plain as it has always been. He knows that it shouldn't be something he notices, but he does. Ten minutes pass as Kakashi looks around, re-familiarizing himself, and Kakashi flushes slightly at the realization that he has no idea where Itachi's brother (Sasuke, he reminds himself) has class. He doesn't let it bother him yet, and walks around the building, feeling for that chakra. It appears to him quickly enough, and Kakashi pushes some chakra into his feet to move him to the classroom more quickly. He arrives within seconds, and pushes the door open to an almost empty classroom.

The dark haired boy is alone in the first bench, a small _bento_ in front of him. It is unopened, and Kakashi walks up to the boy, who, he confirms with a slight grin, is sulking.

"Are you angry, Sasuke, that I'm detaining you from your lunch?"

To his surprise, the boy doesn't jump at the sound of his voice, instead saying with an angry tone, "No."

It made him a bit curious, because the boy was definitely acting differently than he had with his elder brother. "Why not?"

The voice comes a bit more quietly this time. "No one will eat with me, anyway."

It's a very adorable tone, Kakashi realizes with a start, one that would probably have women all over the small child if he were anyone _but_ an Uchiha. "And what of Itachi, then?"

At this, the boy (_Sasuke)_ looks up. "You know aniki?"

Kakashi can't help the grin he is sporting under the mask. The brothers were too cute, after all… "Yes, I do. He cares a lot about you, doesn't he?"

"Yes! Aniki is the best!"

"Even if he kills and hurts others?"

"Aniki only does…those things to protect our home… Because he is stronger…than…everyone else. He will protect what he loves."

The boy didn't realize. Sasuke probably had no idea that Itachi did not care for the village; the only thing that Itachi wanted to protect here was right in front of him. Kakashi isn't sure whether or not to laugh at the irony or bang his head against the wall, so he does both, to the chagrin of Sasuke. The brothers understood each other _too _well. And one day, Kakashi knew, they would both be hurt irrevocably because of it.

The class returned to an unopened _bento_, a dent in the wall, a ruffled Sasuke and a stranger who wouldn't stop laughing.

* * *

Itachi approaches Kakashi the very next day. He is calm, seemingly uncaring, yet Kakashi can see the turmoil beneath his eyes.

"Sasuke said you visited him yesterday."

"Yes."

"He…would like to inform you that…" Itachi seemed to be struggling to say the next words, "…he would enjoy seeing you…spend more time…with me." The words seemed almost bitter coming from the elder brother's mouth.

"He seems like a good kid."

"He is." _Get to the point_, Itachi's eyes say.

"I can see why you love him so much."

"…I see." Then the elder Uchiha turns on his heel and departs from their meeting place, hair twisting lightly behind him in the wind, and Kakashi wonders, very quietly, whether or not Itachi realizes what is really going on.

As Kakashi goes through his day, he understands that he, too, has unknowingly become part of the gossip. This realization solidifies when a man with a broken leg and neck guard on comes to him and very casually remarks, "You know— I heard that you were hanging out with that freak Uchiha." Kakashi tells himself to remain calm, but he can see why the _nin_ has so many injuries. Discretion is obviously not his strong suit, and his mouth runs more quickly than a faucet.

"And?" He prompts.

"I just thought you might want to know that he goes crazy on his teammates at the drop of a pin. Look at me! He did this to me faster than I could blink. He's a monster, I tell you. Don't get near him if you know what's good for you."

Kakashi isn't sure what to say to that, so instead he follows Itachi's previous example and walks away.

* * *

They don't run into each other for another month, and Kakashi can see the inner struggle he had ignored previous. Itachi was more sensitive than any of them ever realized—he was especially prone to becoming forceful when Sasuke was involved. The rumors are truer than he had thought, he realizes by then, and resolves to ignore them. 

But first he had to make sure of something.

He had set up several positions where he could 'run' into the Uchiha, and awaited his 'target' to appear, when the male did, Kakashi also appeared before him. The conversation, this time, was not what he had planned.

"You've been in my tree for fifteen minutes. Sasuke is getting paranoid."

Itachi didn't appear to be taking anything lightly, and Kakashi sighed at the wasted effort.

"I need to talk to you." He said.

"Why?" The younger male spoke. "You have no reason to speak to me."

"I need to know something."

Itachi doesn't answer him, instead going into the estate. Kakashi waits five minutes before Itachi emerges again, this time with a bundle on his back, and they run to a nearby training ground.

When they arrive, Itachi gentle pulls the bundle into his lap. Kakashi is only a little it perturbed at the fact that Itachi had snuck Sasuke out of the house in such a manner, but the feeling disappears as he sees the youngest male nestle his head into the crook of Itachi's neck.

"What do you need to know?" Itachi says, after a moment of silence.

Kakashi speaks softly as to not awaken Sasuke. "Why did you attack that man, Itachi?"

Itachi meets his eyes once and lets his gaze travel down to the bundle in his arms.

When Kakashi blinks, the two are gone.

* * *

"_Sasuke is mute when it comes to this family. He cannot speak his mind—he can only watch and hope he acts correctly."_

"_What kind of existence is that, Itachi?"_

"_He is strong, far stronger than I."_

"_Do you believe that?"_

"_Yes. He will never become…"_

* * *

The man with the broken leg is back again, and this time Kakashi is the one who starts their conversation.

"Why did he attack you?"

"He's a monster, that's why! All I did was congratulate him on his brother's position! I told him 'Your brother's going to be an honor to the clan like you', and he freakin' attacks me!"

And Kakashi understood.

* * *

"_He will never become as weak as me."_

I will never allow it.

* * *

**Word Count: **2,797

This could be seen as a companion piece to Torn, but it wasn't originally intended to be. Those who have read Torn will know what I mean by that. If you haven't, please do read it.

Please review and let me know what you think!


End file.
